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Solenta Aviation

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Solenta Aviation
IATA ICAO Call sign
- SET SOLENTA
Founded2002
Operating basesOR Tambo International Airport
Libreville International Airport
Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport
Fleet size33
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Websitesolenta.co.za

Solenta Aviation is an airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa, with its maintenance base at OR Tambo International Airport. The company was founded in 2002[1] and operates cargo flights on regional routes throughout the Sub-Saharan Africa on behalf of DHL Aviation. Solenta Aviation also operates extensively for the oil and gas industry ("OGP"), offering passenger charter, cargo and aircraft lease services.

Operations

Many Solenta Aviation aircraft feature the DHL logo and livery.
A Solenta Aviation ATR 42 in DHL colors at Port Harcourt International Airport in 2005.
Beech 1900's on the flight line in Hassi Messaoud, operated for Air Express Algeria

Solenta Aviation has adopted a de-centralized business model, thus being able to offer flexible short-haul cargo flights. From its home and maintenance base at OR Tambo International Airport, it operates a number of DHL flights on regional routes to Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe using a fleet of ATR 42 and Cessna 208 Caravan cargo aircraft.[2]

There are several subsidiaries under separate airline licenses:

Further aircraft of Solenta Aviation are based and operated out of several other airports:

Fleet

As of October 2011, the Solenta Aviation mainline fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Solenta Aviation fleet
Aircraft In Service
ATR 42
5
ATR 72
1
Beechcraft 1900
20
Cessna 208
5
Embraer ERJ 145
4
Total 33

Accidents and incidents

On 6 June 2011 at 10:25 local time, an Antonov An-26 (registered TR-LII) ditched into the Gulf of Guinea 2.3 kilometres off Libreville, Gabon. The aircraft was operated by Scorpion Air, a Bulgarian company, under Solenta Aviation Gabon's AOC. It had been on Flight 122A for DHL Aviation from Port Gentil to Libreville.[9][10] The three crew members and one passenger on board received only minor injuries.[9] Prior to the ditching, they had reported hydraulic problems; eyewitness reports suggest that an engine failure may have occurred.[10][11] As a consequence, the Gabonese government declared a temporary ban on aircraft of the types Antonov An-12, An-24 and An-26 in the country, pending the outcome of the investigation into the cause for the crash.[12]

References

  1. ^ Solenta Aviation entry at airlineupdate.com
  2. ^ Solenta in South Africa
  3. ^ Solenta Aviation in Côte d'Ivoire
  4. ^ Solenta in Nairobi
  5. ^ Solenta in Algeria
  6. ^ Solenta Aviation in Pakistan
  7. ^ Solenta in Zimbabwe
  8. ^ Solenta in Togo
  9. ^ a b "DHL cargo plane crashes in Gabon, no fatalities". BNO News. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  10. ^ a b Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Solenta AN26 near Libreville on Jun 6th 2011, ditched in the sea". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  11. ^ Flight 122A at the Aviation Safety Network
  12. ^ [1] gaboneco.com: French news article on Flight 122A]